Only Once
by KatsuInuChan
Summary: 2 lonely hearts looking for the one. But will there be a meeting where one recognizes the other or will they just pass unaware of each others feelings? Breaking habits and crossing lines, destiny entwines 2 young men.
1. Chapter 1: I want to love

Chapter 01: ... I want to love

School…

It's always the same.

I hate it.

Every day I have to go to school and every day I have to wear a mask. Can't somebody save me? I am fed up with this everyday routine. Getting up in the morning, going to school, driving to my corporation afterwards just to work till late in the night.

It's so dreary... boring… I want out.

Out of this vicious circle.

I'd love to end it all, but I can't. I can't leave HIM alone. He is still too young. If I would go now he'd have to go to a children's home. I want to keep him away from that. He should have a beautiful life unlike me. That's why I am working so hard. To be able to give him a good childhood.

I keep on living. Just for him I am sitting here not allowed to show my feelings to anyone. To be honest you can't call this living anymore. Just like a machine I keep working myself through the prosy day. Conference here, paper work there, I keep on running like a computer until someone presses the shut-down button. Just that no one is pressing it for me and my heart isn't in my work anymore.

Nobody is allowed to see that I am lonely. Emotions are just a burden. They point out weakness and leave me vulnerable. Therefore I hide them behind a wall of ice.

It has been a long time since I laughed with all my heart. Also it appears that I almost entirely forgot how to smile. I just can't do it anymore. Only for my little brother I manage to smile.

I wish I would be able to let go only once. I want to open my heart to someone and talk about things that weigh on my soul. Just how much I do wish for that but I didn't find this person yet. I doubt that I ever will be able to find it. Supposedly fate wants to punish me for something.

Might Muto be possibly right? Did I commit such a huge sin in my previous life that I still have to suffer? He told me that I once was a priest in times of ancient Egypt. I was said to be cold and unapproachable. But even though I loved someone. At least I should have learned how to do it. But I lost this love.

I can't remember but for some time now I got nightmares.

I see how my only love is dying before my eyes through my hands. Then I begin to destroy everything that tries to block my path. Yes, I have sinned. And yet it taught me that my love could never return.

Every time I wake up drenched in sweat. I do not know who was the person I loved. I could never see it properly. I would like to know who this person was. It seemed familiar.

All I know is that I want to love.

If it's true what Muto told me and what I see every night …

Am I doomed to spend my life without love?

Even if I wish so much to have someone I could give my heart to?

Someone who is not my little brother?

And if I would find this person, would it then have to die by my hand like in my dreams?

I hate that everyone is just after my money or my power. I only want to be loved at least once the way I am. Will I find this love one day?

I hope so.

* * *

The bell rang for recess.

I got up to go out into the yard. Then you bumped into me. I quickly recovered my balance unlike you who was sitting in front of me on the floor. You growled at me but I only put my superior smile on. We argued -actually as always- but I realized how much your words lost their power lately. It seemed to me that you didn't really mean what you were saying. You might think I did not notice it but I'm not that stupid, mutt. You should know this much yourself. You glared at me and insulted me while I examined you only and kept up my arrogant and conceited grin.

Do you know that you're the only one who -next to my brother of course- gets so much attention from me? I don't think so.

Anyway, I didn't know myself why I ever got involved with you or even provoked a fight. I couldn't even stand you. I didn't understand myself anymore.

Quickly I shook off the thought that I would perhaps like you. After all, we are enemies and always have been.

Enemies are supposed to hate each other, don't they?

You still barked at me but I reacted as usual: not at all. Then I turned away from you and went to sit back on my chair. Recess was over now. Thanks to you I had none of it but somehow I wasn't angry about it.

If you wouldn't fill my breaks I would probably work. And this must not be. I work enough already.

The teacher came in and I already drifted off with my thoughts. I knew what he was talking about. I've learned it all before. So now I was daydreaming and thought about you. How you always reacted towards me or how you behaved. I couldn't believe it but I always came to the conclusion that you did not seem to hate me as much as you pretended. Was it probably the same for me?

Inconspicuous I shook my head. No I didn't like you. I couldn't stand you.

And yet I felt somewhat attracted to you. I couldn't explain it myself. I loved to have your absolute attention when we fought. You had now become an essential part of my daily routine. However, I couldn't say that this was bugging me much.

What should I think of this?

Was I starting to like you?

Maybe.

Should I accept it?

Actually you're quite okay if one ignores the little quirks of yours. You do not look bad and got some pride and nothing can make you back down. Those are all rather positive things. What would be negative? You are annoying, mixed up in every event that occurs and you're incredibly loud. One cannot ignore you. And yet I must admit that I do somehow find you appealing.

If not we wouldn't argue. I would ignore you then like the others no matter what you would did. But could I really? You and your naive way to push yourself in the centre of attention everywhere you show up. At least that's the way I see it. Everywhere you are present. At the tournament of Pegasus, when I was locked in my own game, the Battle City Tournament, the fight against Noah, when it came to Mariku, the fight against Dartz. You've even lost your soul and not just once. Then you were in Egypt too. And again at the front of the battle.

I got to admit that you have become a better duellist. You are not as much a loser as before. Almost, you had even beaten me. In that instant I have been impressed and had some respect for you. But that quickly went by. In the end I defeated you.

And now class was already over.

I've been thinking about you all the time. Did it mean anything? But I couldn't care less at the moment. I had to survive only 2 more hours then I could finally get out of this stuffy room. In any case, I wouldn't think about YOU anymore. My head was needed for something else. For example, I could think about whether I was going to do this bargain with that guy now or not. Alright …

* * *

Great ... now the last period was over and I only thought about him. This was crazy. Why did I think so often about him? This was pure madness. I should have done something against it immediately.

I sighed and quietly packed up my things. Then I made my way to my limousine waiting outside the school. I got in and drove home to get changed and grab some documents. I climbed back into the car and went to my company. It looked like I was getting a lot to do and wouldn't get to sleep properly. Once more a soft sigh. Fortunately no one could hear it.

I don't want to go on anymore. How much do I wish I'd have some actual free time. Then I could finally use the time to find someone with whom I want to spend my time. Someone whom my heart would belong to. Who takes me away from this boring life. Maybe I'll get lucky and find such a person one day.

I cancelled all my thoughts and started to work. Maybe I'll got done faster and still going to get some sleep. My thoughts wanted to drift away but I pulled myself together and concentrated on the contracts, documents and other stack of paper in front of me. Yes, work distracts me. I didn't even pay attention to the time. So hour by hour passes by.

I finally finished very late at night. I cleared everything and packed up my things. A glance at the clock told me it was already half past one.

A soft sigh escaped my mouth. Hopefully Mokuba was already in bed. I took my suitcase and got on my way home.

Once there, I looked after my little brother. He was fast asleep just as I expected. Mokuba never stayed awake till I came back home. He knew that it was very late often. I had also instructed the maid to make sure that he was in bed by 9 at last. I placed a little kiss on his forehead and stroke his hair for a little.

"Sleep well Moki."

I left his room and walked to my own. The room was large and dark. He seemed as cold and lonely as I was. I went to the bathroom and got ready for bed. As soon as I closed my eyes I could see a picture. There it was again. Why did I think of him again? He was only a small blond mutt with a big mouth. It bugged me. And yet I couldn't completely banish him from my thoughts. I rolled to the side and tried to sleep. After about half an hour I succeeded at last and was in the land of dreams.

_To be continued_


	2. Chapter 2: get a chance

Chapter 02: ... get a chance

It was just before eight and I dashed through the streets of Domino City as if death in person was chasing me. A curse left my mouth. I was late, very late! I hurried because actually I didn't want to be late. However, this was nothing unusual for me anymore. I was late for classes each day.

HE was probably already there but only because he arrives half an hour too early every morning. Always, he had to be the first in the classroom. How did I know? He would surely ask if I would tell him because I'm the last to appear for class. Yuugi has told me. He is always there, but never before HIM.

Did you know that I don't hate you even if it often looks like that? I cannot stand it anymore to have to argue with you. I myself do not know exactly how it happened but our little quarrels I keep enjoying them more and more. I love to have your attention. You ignore everyone else, just not me.

It's a nice feeling to see that glow in your deep blue eyes knowing I am the only one who can cause it.

Those cold, sapphire eyes which are able to pierce my skin let a shiver run down my back every time I catch their gaze. His chestnut tuft shining in the light so softly. I wonder if they are as smooth as they look. I wish I could get a chance to run my fingers through those brown locks and drop his always accurate hairstyle into chaos. I bet he would look even more adorable with a messy mane.

I wish I could tell him how I feel but I'm afraid.

"Fuck."

I didn't pay attention to where I was going at all. Stupid Kaiba! I stopped and looked around. This was definitely not the way to school. I had no idea where I was. Now I was going to be 100% too late.

Slowly, I moved on, looking for a place which seemed familiar.

Nothing.  
I sighed quietly. How should I now get to class in time? This was going to be difficult, finding a way to school, especially because there was no one near to ask.

I kept walking aimlessly through the area. Somewhere there must have been a road here to get me at least back home. For hours I was searching. It was cold and I was freezing. To my misfortune the sky gradually turned grey on Domino and it began to rain.

Why did something like this always happen to me? Everywhere there were only dark alleys through which I searched my way. The rain was beating relentlessly down on me. My clothes were drenched slowly and my gaze was fixed on the asphalt.

That was just depressing. I was lost in my own town. If Honda ever finds out he'd laugh himself dead.

I didn't like to think of it.

After endless seeming two hours I've finally found something that appeared familiar to me. I couldn't stop to notice that I seemed to be quite a few minutes away from my actual destination. I took a look at the Clock.

Actually, it was no longer worth going to school. The most important classes I've already missed and if not I was going to miss them because the teacher would have thrown me out again.

So I decided to go to a café and have a late breakfast first, which I gradually missed this morning. I peered out the window. Man, it was still pouring cats and dogs.

I sighed soundlessly and only then noticed the looks that other guests shot at me. I must have looked like a crestfallen outcast.

Immediately a picture flashed through my mind. What would he have said if he would have seen me like this? Probably he would have called me a dog like he used to. But I won't be able to dissuade him anyhow.

Oh, damn! I was thinking of him again!

I rubbed my forehead. Couldn't I think of something else? Why did you always have to slip into my thoughts?

I grumbled dissatisfied and ordered some food which arrived a few minutes later. Dejected I nibbled on my sandwich.

Oh man, I was feeling cold slowly. I should change into something dry urgently. But going home? My father was certainly there. I had no desire to have a beating again. What did I do anyway to be punished with such a father?

I sighed. Better I ate up first and then look into what's going to happen next.

After some time I left the shop. It didn't rain quite as strong anymore. I roamed through the streets for a while and thought of what to do. I could go to the arcade, just to watch others. Money for games I didn't have left. My last coins were used on breakfast.

Decision taken and I was on my way to the Arcade. There I spent a few hours and I warmed up a little.

When I was leaving the building again it still did not stop raining. Sighing I started my way home. In the gaming hall I had all the time once again to think of Kaiba. Why was that guy haunting me constantly in my head? Well I like him somehow. Yeah, even though I couldn't stand him in some situations. Despite all that he has certain facets on himself that I found interesting.

Arrg! Enough of Kaiba! I'd better watch where I was running to or in the end I'll get lost again.

I passed a playground when suddenly a mud stained ball rolled towards me and I looked around.

There were two small boys, I guess both of them were not older than eight years. Soccer ... I used to play it a lot when I was little, and always enjoyed it.

One of the kids looked at me and waved his hand in the air.

"Hey, big bro, you playing with us?"

Why shouldn't I? I had nothing important to do and I didn't want to go home yet. Shrugging I walked over to them picking up the ball along the way.

It was nice to pretend to be a kid again.

Some time, and a bunch of dirty clothes later I felt really comfortable. It was great indeed. I was soaked to the skin but I didn't mind at all. I had to constantly run back and forth so I didn't feel the cold anymore.

I jumped for the next ball to kick it back to one of the boys but wasn't able to catch it and dropped head first into the mud. One of the boys ran after the ball laughing. I quickly got to my feet again and wiped the mud from my face.

When he came back into my field of vision I heard his friend scream terrified. I turned my head spotting the cause of the scream.

"Shit!"

The last thing I remembered was the loud squealing of car tires on a wet road and the rain beating on my skin relentlessly.

_To be continued_


	3. Chapter 3: forget all sorrow

Chapter 03: … forget all sorrow

Slowly his senses came back to life.

The blond haired boy could feel something warm covering his body up to his chest and there was that weird smell in the air. He couldn't tell what it was but it definitely wasn't something pleasant, yet familiar.

Wearily the young man opened his chocolate brown eyes and flinched upon the dazzling white light that caused his head to hurt instantly. Moaning slightly he gritted his teeth and pressed his eyes shut. At almost the same moment he recognized the constant beeping of the ECG next to him and coiled up, clutching his hands against his ears. The annoying sound didn't stop. It even accelerated, increasing the throbbing feeling instead of ceasing it, causing his eyes to water from the pain. The blond moaned again. His head felt more and more like it was going to explode each minute he had to stand the sound of that horrible machine.

Make it stop, please.

After 5 unbelievably long minutes of agony a doctor arrived.

Well, the blond had time to figure out that he seemed to be in hospital - out of whatever reason - and that that man in the white lab coat was a doctor. The smell he had noticed earlier also turned out to be one of the antiseptics used a lot in hospitals. If only he could turn off that freaking beeping noise! It was hard to concentrate on the doctor since his head felt like it was breaking to pieces.

After a short check on the ECG the older man turned towards him, greeted him and asked how he felt. The blond wasn't able to answer, just winced and groaned softly, gripping his hair stronger as one beep after another filled the room.

The man seemed to understand the behaviour of the youngster and turned off the ECG, for it wasn't needed anymore anyway. The curtains were closed and after that was done the doctor added some medicine into the transfusion that was connected to the blonds arm to counter the headache.

Now that it was silent and darker in the room, Jou began to relax a little bit now that the drug had kicked in and the pain had ceased.

Again, the doctor asked how he felt and this time Jou was able to answer the question properly even though he still had some trouble keeping his mind focused. After filling in the blond on his injuries, he checked how much damage the blond's brain had taken. Nothing seemed to be unusual. He had suffered an infraction on the back of his head along with a concussion. The wound had been sewed with 3 stitches and now he had a thick bandage around his head covered by some strands of gold. He remembered his name, how old he was and what date it was, so everything seemed okay. The only thing the blond boy had problems with was remembering the accident itself.

"Don't worry, it's not unusual to forget about that. The memory should return during the next days. For now just relax and concentrate on getting better. You are going to stay here till the day after tomorrow to make sure you don't have any other severe injuries. A concussion should not be taken lightly."

Jou nodded slowly, then, a picture flashed through his mind.

"How is the kid doing?" The doc looked at him in a little surprise.

"He is fine. A sprained ankle and some bruises, nothing dangerous. He and his friend suffered from shock but that's nothing that won't wear off fast. They got picked up by their parents already, both asking how you were doing before they left."

The blond sighed in relief. "Thank god. "

He had fallen asleep for several hours after the doctor had left his room. His head was stuffed with all that information about his condition, what he had to do and so on, it was hard to grasp them all. Moreover all that brain racking increased his headache again, even though he was high from painkillers running through his veins, so he had decided to stop thinking for a while and just sleep.

Later on some policemen dropped by to gather some information about the accident. Jou wasn't of much help but he tried his best to remember some details. He told them about playing soccer in the rain with the two boys, how the ball flew too far and the terrible scream that caught his attention. He didn't remember who shouted nor what the cause of it was.

The blond took some deep breaths to focus his mind. He was sitting in bed, his vision a little blurred due to the headache and dizziness and tried his best to keep concentrating.

This was the hardest part, to remember the accident itself. Jou ran his fingers through his hair thinking about what had happened.

"There was a pair of lights growing bigger rapidly and … uhh …some shadow behind them. It's all quite blurry. I don't remember that I even moved but must have somehow because I remember hitting someone, no not someone, the boy probably, in flight and pulling him with me. There was some … squealing noise like something was sliding on the wet road. Then a sharp pain ran through my head and everything got dark. I assume I must have hit my head on something and the next thing I know is waking up here with an unbelievable headache."

He felt terribly sick and lay back down because the world began to spin so badly that he had problems sitting upright.

The doctor who also attended the questioning, reacted fast as always and gave Jou some medicine against the sickness. He also filled the policemen in on information the kids had given him when they arrived in hospital. The boy who hadn't been standing on the road had told him that there was a black car rushing closer and that the blond dashed to his friend and pulled him out of reach with a big jump. Jou had protected the boy from hitting the ground with his own body and both slithered on the road. The blond had hit the curb stone edge with his head and passed out. Fortunately, he had worn his school bag so he didn't suffer any injuries on his back.

The policemen nodded and made some notes. They also asked for the names of the kids for a proper interrogation later on. When they took their leave and turned around, Jou sighed in relief and relaxed a little more into his pillows. He didn't like the police because of some incidents in his earlier life.

Anyway, they are gone so I've got some peace till I can leave here.

And with a slight smile he fell asleep.

The next two days passed by rather slowly and finally Jou was allowed to leave. He sat on the bed putting on his clothes, which someone seemed to have washed, because now they were all clean and dry. He waited for the doctor to check him over and release him, then grabbed his school bag and started his way home.

The headache had ceased a little and thanks to the painkillers and other drugs he had gotten from the doc, the blond looked forward to a painless time. Happy to finally get out of hospital he didn't even listen carefully on the instructions the older man had given him. What could go wrong anyway? If he felt sick he would stay in bed, if not he could go to school, right? Since he was still a bit dizzy he wouldn't attend PE classes either. And he got a note for sick leave from the doc anyway.

The weather had gotten better over the time he was hospitalized. It was a cold but dry autumnal day. Even the sun was shining, warming his back a bit as he walked through the streets of Domino.

Jou had left the hospital after lunch so he took his time on his way home. He didn't need to get there fast. Moreover the blond had no money for the bus or a taxi. The flat he lived in with his father was located in the suburbs of the town. It would take approximately two hours to walk there.

After a stroll through the city he arrived in the late afternoon.

All was well, until he opened the door of the run-down apartment and stepped in.

A bottle soared past his head and cracked, with an awful noise, into thousands of shards.

"Where've ya been yer dirty bastard?!"

* * *

"Jounouchi Katsuya! I'm talking to you!"

Mentioned young man started up from his thoughts. Where was he again?

The blond glanced around. Everyone – except mister blue-eyes, who had far better stuff to do, like maltreating the keyboard of his laptop for example – was looking at him. So did the teacher which stood right in front of the just awoken boy, glaring at him grimly.

"Just because you've been on sick leave for three days doesn't give you the right to dream in my class! I have told you before that you don't have the marks to slack off."

Letting the toad like women in front of him nag, the blond rubbed one of his weary eyes. Right, he was in school but somehow he didn't remember even going. Obviously he must have been walking the whole way because his clothes were wet from the rain again. The young man frowned.

What had happened yesterday when he had arrived home?

"Jounouchi!"

The blond twitched due to the high pitched voice that made his already existing headache increase drastically. He grabbed his head with one hand and blinked into the direction of the teacher.

"If you are still not feeling well you should go to the infirmary. Otherwise I will not tolerate any more of your sloth." A stern looking pair of eyes targeted his and narrowed a little.

The blond nodded slowly. "I'm fine, Miss."

"No more sleeping or daydreaming then till the end of class. I'll keep an eye on you and if I catch you sleeping again I-"

The bell had rung for recess in that instant moment, cutting off the teacher and leaving Jou in a great relief.

Slowly he packed his stuff and left to switch rooms for the next class.

To be honest, he really felt sick. The headache had increased rapidly when he had gotten up from his chair and the floor didn't seem to appear as solid as it was supposed to be.

Glad that he didn't have to cross the whole school building to get to the next class he marched his way and flopped into his chair. Ignoring the worried looks of Yuugi and the others, he laid his head on the table, cushioning it with his arms. He was freezing. He felt terribly sick. The world didn't want to stop spinning. Out of some mysterious reason his whole body was hurting. And to top of it off his head acted as if it was going to explode any minute. It was too loud and too bright.

He pressed his eyes against his arm and groaned inwardly.

On the way to the classroom Jou had searched his bag but hadn't found any of the painkillers the doc had given him the day before. He could bear the sickness and the discomfort of his body somehow but he definitely wouldn't be able to endure this unbelievably throbbing pain in his head. But now the blond had also no chance to get to the infirmary anymore. He was definitely not capable of moving his body any further for now. Every inch of his limbs felt as heavy as lead. He was exhausted just from climbing a pair of stairs.

Jou closed his eyes.

If it wasn't for this murderous headache…

* * *

The day seemed to become one of the boring ones again for a special brown-haired CEO. Those were his thoughts while tapping the keys on his Laptop until a well known face entered the classroom.

Seto had the perfect seat, right in the front row, to notice every newcomer and throw an icy glare to scare them off. It worked quite well, just not on that particular person that had just arrived, surprisingly, in time.

Sapphire eyes, previously fixed on a laptop screen, glanced upwards for a split second as the blond had stepped in, then jumped back into their former position and the tapping continued as if it had never stopped.

"Hey mutt, you seem to be on time for the first time in your life. Built your kennel in the school yard, didn't you? It appears to have no roof though."

No reply.

The tapping stopped and the brunet frowned slightly irritated. What the …?

He let go of his laptop, looked up at the blond and observed him properly, just to stare a few seconds in disbelieve, as the boy passed his desk.

He looks awful.

The blond trotted over to his seat and Seto decided to let him off the hook for now but keep an eye on him.

The hours passed by and the blond didn't move. He had only gazed out of the window ignoring the teachers and everyone else. Even when their history teacher finally managed to wake him up he seemed absent minded.

Something wasn't right but Seto couldn't tell what it was.

Recess came and went.

They had biology now and the teacher announced that they would be working in groups of two today. Whilst the old man started reading out the pairs Seto glanced to the blond.

Mentioned one lay on the table and seemed to be sleeping.

"Jounouchi Katsuya and Kaiba Seto"

Sharp blue eyes targeted the teacher. "What?!"

"You understood very well, Mr. Kaiba. You are going to work together with Mr. Jounouchi since you are the best in class… "

… and that mutt is hopeless. The brunet ended the sentence in thought as well as the teacher might have done.

He still had to throw deadly looks towards the old man, who answered them with patience, while he gave in, stood up and trudged over to the blond's seat.

Grabbing his shoulder Seto shook him up from sleep realizing how warm the other one was.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, there is work for you. You can sleep some other time."

He felt and saw the blond wince and open his eyes slowly.

"Come on! I don't have time forever."

The blond strengthened his upright position slowly and regarded the brunet through tired and a little glassy eyes which also carried a sign of pain and confusion.

Brown eyes focused on cold, sapphire blue ones.

"Who are you?"

"Stop messing around and get to work, mutt! I don't have all day for this crap, I got more important stuff to do." He straightened up and looked around frustrated, not willing to pay more attention to the blond than necessary. Why did he have to get paired up with that airhead anyway? All he wanted was to get his work done to get home earlier today and spend some time with his little brother.

"No, seriously, who are you? And…" The blond looked around. "…where am I?"

Seto narrowed his eyes. This wasn't true. How dumb could someone seriously be?

"In school. Now wake up and move your lazy ass." He wouldn't be tricked by that mutt. He had to keep control.

Calmly he set off back to his desk, threw a last glance over his shoulder and stopped.

Seto gritted his teeth and growled.

That filthy mutt had not even listened to what he had said!

Instead, the blond had examined his hands, had then gazed out of the window for a while only to turn his head shortly afterwards towards the brunet who had already opened his mouth intending to bellow more insults.

"Who am I?"

The voice was silent, barely audible and moreover … insecure.

Seto froze.

_To be continued_


	4. Chapter 4: save me

Chapter 04: … save me

_"Who am I?"_

The words kept repeating themselves in his mind.

And for the first time Seto Kaiba, the richest boy of Japan who had been declared 'sexiest man alive', who could kill with only one glance of his icy eyes, who owned his own company, who had Kaiba Corp. buildings and theme parks all over the planet – if he had not already built any on other planets as well! – and who always had a sharp comment on his tongue, was speechless.

Was this still a joke which the blond had just planned that carefully?

"I told you to stop fooling around, mutt!"

Seto had completely turned around to the blond and had gripped his shoulders again. His voice had become a little louder than expected and he watched the blond wince and moan quietly, digging the fingers into the strands of gold.

An accurately applied, white bandage came to light and Seto knew, from the blond's behaviour and the sound of Jou's voice, that this wasn't a joke at all.

He felt something in his stomach tighten uncomfortably.

Carefully, the brunet had released one of the boy's shoulders and reached for the chin. Pushing it up slowly he had studied the blond's face with the chocolate brown eyes that were missing the usual sparkles.

A long time Seto had examined Jou's face – especially his eyes - who had started to become more and more uneasy and who had begun to move slowly trying to free himself from the brunet's grip on his shoulder which was instantly countered by Seto in hardening it, keeping the blond in place. Except for the red cheeks he had, the boy was rather pale and his body emitted an abnormal amount of heat.

Suddenly, Seto felt a small tremor running through the blond who had pressed his eyes shut, breaking the eye contact.

"It… it hurts." It had been only a silent whimper but the blond's voice had hit the brunet as if Jou had shouted those words right into his ear. Seto blinked in confusion then glanced over to his hand holding the blonds shoulder. Almost instantly he realized what the cause for the boy's pain was and so he loosened the grip.

"What is wrong with him, Mr. Kaiba?" It was the teacher's voice who had watched the whole happening in confusion. The entire class seemed to have done the same.

"Apparently it looks like he has a concussion and…" Seto released his hand from Jou's chin touching the boy's cheek and forehead for a few seconds. "… a rather high fever."

He stepped a few centimetres away from the blond releasing him entirely.

"Moreover the mutt seems to have lost his memory so I suppose we call an ambulance and take him into hospital. He looks like he needs some treatment."

"What?" The teacher looked at the brunet in disbelieve then turned his gaze towards the blond boy who looked pale and puzzled. Usually one could trust the judgement of Seto Kaiba even if the two of them only had quarrels, Kaiba was class representative and had a certain responsibility for his classmates. He wouldn't lie or joke about something as serious as this. Besides that, Jou had really behaved strange and he didn't look too well.

Slowly nodding the teacher had given the class some tasks and had left the room to call an ambulance and inform the principal. The brunet had received the order to take care of Jou and the class meanwhile.

But unfortunately the class had other things than working in mind.

Almost instantly, students had rushed over to the blond's seat and had started throwing questions at him whilst trying to beat each other in volume.

As the crowd around Seto and Jou got louder and louder and the blond got smaller and smaller gripping his head and moaning in pain, the brunet started to react.

"You guys leave him alone already! You got your tasks because he needs peace to not worsen everything! Don't you cretins see that he's in a lot of pain because you keep shouting questions at him?! Go back to your seats and do what you were told to do!"

A few students backed off immediately and sat down in silence after Seto had finished but some others tried to resist and actually had dared to talk back to him so Seto had shot a bunch of icy glares directly towards them. That seemed to work at least.

He turned back to Jou releasing his ears which he had covered unconsciously to protect the boy from the noise. The blond looked even paler than he had some minutes ago.

Seto hadn't hesitated long before he had lifted Jou from his seat and carried him to the infirmary placing him on a bed there. He had felt the warmth of the body in his arms. It had been almost like his skin was burning under the drenched clothes.

"You stay here till the ambulance arrives. I'll be right back. I'm just going to pick up your bag and something dry for you to wear." Seto had muttered to the blond while he was pushing him lightly into the pillows.

There was no resistance.

He gave the nurse a short briefing, threw one last glance to the boy on the bed and then took off to do what he had planned. It didn't take him a lot of time to get what he wanted and he returned to the blond after a mere 5 minutes.

Seto threw Jou's school bag into the arms of the nurse, told her to look for some medicine the blond might have and walked over to the bed. Jou was lying there completely curled up and his arms wrapped around his head covering the eyes. After a small analysis the brunet turned around and closed the windows curtains, then stepped back to the boy.

Gently pulling him into an upright position Seto had started to explain the next steps slowly so Jou could follow and take the words in.

"I brought you my second pair of clothes. We're going to get you changed now since you're completely drenched. I'm going to help you because you look like you can't even sit by yourself. "

Jou hadn't said a thing. He just gave a small nod and started to move a little to get rid of his shirt. As promised, Seto had helped him into a new pair of trousers and a clean white shirt. He couldn't avoid seeing the condition the blond was in. Covered with bruises and scars the emaciated body had looked so fragile Seto wondered why Jou didn't have any broken bones yet. Moreover he was suffering from the fever and trembled slightly.

As they had finished changing, Seto heard the siren of the ambulance and a few minutes later a hand full of people had rushed into the room stepping to the blond boy who had still been sitting on the bed.

Jou was asked some questions which he answered very insecure and only vaguely, so after a little check on his condition the medics got a stretcher to take the blond into hospital.

As soon as they had started their way to the ambulance, Seto, who had been standing next to the stretcher the whole time, felt someone grip his sleeve. He needed only a short glance to realise whose hand it was. The blonds grip had been only weak, his hand was trembling slightly and when the brunet had let his gaze wander to the boy's eyes he had seen how insecure and scared Jou was.

The stretcher kept moving and Seto didn't have time to think. His body had begun to act on its own and so he had started walking, accompanying the blond to the ambulance still captivated by a pair of lost brown eyes and a trembling hand holding on to his sleeve.

_To be continued_


	5. Chapter 5: a new beginning

Chapter 05: … a new beginning

He must have passed out again and by the time the young man opened his amber eyes he found himself in a bed which felt awkwardly familiar to him. Slowly he settled in an upright position and looked around. Despite the dim light Jou noticed the too white walls of the room. His arm was hooked to a tube that was connected with a little bag of some transparent liquid that kept dripping slow but constantly, invading his body. Jou went on with his observation.

He found the window and through the half closed curtains he could see that it was already dark outside. All the lights in the room were turned off so the only source sending such a soft and gentle light to him was possibly the moon. Even through the curtains he was able to feel its presence and although he didn't know why, it set him at ease. Still, something bothered him in the back of his mind.

Jou gazed out of the window for another while then turned his eyes towards the bedclothes. Slowly questions began to form in his head. How did he get here? He didn't feel any pain so why was he even here? What was going to happen to him? Something felt wrong but he couldn't point it out. Thousands of questions opened up on him and he had started to feel a little dizzy. Due to his head getting heavier and heavier the blond decided to lie down again.

When he closed his eyes for a few Minutes a pair of sapphire blue ones suddenly flashed through his mind. Jou's eyes snapped open again and he finally knew what was wrong.

Something was missing.

A shiver ran down his spine as the boy had managed to fight himself into a sitting position again, looking around in the room desperately only to realise that there wasn't even another bed that could have contained a person nor was there anyone in the armchair that stood in the corner of the room or on a chair next to his bed.

He was completely alone.

The blond sank back into his pillows closing his eyes halfway and biting his lip. Thoughts and questions started to rise again leaving the blond in sheer discomposure. He felt lonely and wished for someone to answer his questions. Still, he couldn't think of a face or a person to show up. There was nothing, as if he'd never known a single person.

His memory was empty.

Jou didn't know how long he had been lying there lost in thoughts staring through the ceiling as a soft knock on the door caught his attention. Slowly his eyes slid to the side glancing at the door that shifted open silently.

* * *

"What do we have here?"

"Male, 18 years old. Concussion and a great potential of memory loss, reason unknown yet."

"The name is?"

"Jounouchi Katsuya." A deep, composed voice answered and a pair of blue eyes had been fixed on a blond boy panting and sweating heavily.

"Fresh injuries as if he got beaten up recently and a wound on the head that looks like it got treatment some days ago, high fever and lost consciousness on our way here. Already gave him something to lower the fever."

"Oh, I remember him. Take him to room 2 and order a complete check up. I'll inform Dr. Shirayoshi."

"Mr. Kaiba," the medic turned towards the brunet "I'm sorry but you have to wait here. We'll send someone to inform you on his condition later on."

Seto stopped in his tracks and regarded the doctor. For a few seconds he had paused thinking then straightened his back. "That's not necessary. I got more important stuff to do rather than puppy sitting. I still have a company to attend to. Inform me when he wakes up and is able to answer some questions." With those words said he had handed the man a contact card had then turned around and left the hospital gripping his cell phone on the way calling his driver to pick him up.

Seto sat in his office browsing through papers and statistics but somehow it was hard for him to stay concentrated because of a special pair of amber eyes that refused to leave his mind. What had that stupid mutt done to lose his memory?

But what had shocked the brunet certainly the most was the look of the blond's body. Every time the blond had come to school with new bruises he had acted as if he had gotten in a fight in his neighbourhood even though this seemed certainly not true now that he thought about it. Seto had seen the blond dropping his carefree smile as soon as none of his friends would notice. Back then, Jou was vulnerable but Seto never made a move on it. He had kept silent about it out of reasons he didn't understand himself.

The pup had promised the punk not to get himself wrapped up in ridiculous fights where he couldn't win when they started their friendship. Seto didn't think that the blond would break a promise to his very best friend without a very good reason behind it. He treasured Yuugi and his friendship the most. So what could have driven the boy to lie to his best friend and why had he looked like being in so much agony? It was definitely far more than just guilt and regret that the boy had felt.

Suddenly his cell phone rang and Seto had to pull himself together not to jump. He checked on who the caller was. The number was unknown still he had a faint idea who it could be. Not a lot of people had his private cell phone number. He would know if it was Mokuba or one of his drivers. His secretary was right next to the office so she would never dare to call him on his phone. That left only the option of the hospital calling him on the blond's condition. He glanced at the clock.

It was almost 8pm and already dark outside. Seto blinked in a light surprise that he had sat there not working but thinking about the pup for hours even though it only had seemed like a few minutes to him.

He repositioned himself in his chair, cleared his throat and picked up the call.

"Kaiba."

"Good evening Mr. Kaiba. I'm Dr. Shirayoshi from the Domino Central Hospital. I'm currently taking care of Jounouchi Katsuya. The reason I am calling is that you asked us to inform you when he wakes up. Well, he did. If you want you can see him for a while."

Seto felt his heart pounding a little faster and he felt the sudden urge to go see the blond. Maybe he would get some answers of him now.

"I'll fill you in on his condition when you are here. He's on the second floor room 251."

"I'm on my way." And as soon as he had said that he already ended the call. After saving his work files he shut down his computer, grabbed his suitcase and coat and made his way down to the car telling his secretary to cancel his last meeting.

Seto had arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and found the room Jou was lying in instantly. The doctor had already been waiting for him.

"Mister Kaiba." The medic greeted him politely. The brunet had returned just a slight nod as he stepped to the doctor waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Well, I'll try to make it short since it's late already and visiting hours are over soon. I did only a small check on his memory so far to not stress him too much. He is still suffering from high fever and the concussion so he should rest as much as possible. He lost the memory of himself. He doesn't know his name, his date of birth or anything else concerning his past. I didn't go further because he needs to rest properly for now. We'll have a check on his memory tomorrow when he is feeling a little better.

We're not quite sure why he suddenly lost his memory though since everything was fine when he left here yesterday. Concerning his state I'd say he got beaten up where a hit at the head could have worsened the concussion he already had and that way triggered his loss of memory. Since he can't remember anything we cannot be sure."

"That can't be. He still remembered people and himself in school. He was shouted at by the teacher and showed no signs of not knowing who he was. He wouldn't have reacted otherwise. But he behaved rather strange anyway. He was absent minded and slept or stared out of the window. And what do you mean he left the hospital yesterday?"

The brunet had noticed that the blond didn't attend school for a few days but he would have never thought of him being in hospital. It had made more sense believing that the mutt had skipped school like other days.

"We're going to figure that out tomorrow." The doctor had looked at Seto for a moment thinking of whether to tell him or not about the blonds visit here. "You see, I'm not allowed to tell you the Details but I think it's okay to give at least a little information since he needs help now.

Jounouchi had gotten himself in a little accident 4 days ago. He jumped in front of a car to save a child from being overrun. He didn't get injured by the car but hit his head on the curb stone protecting the child. But besides the concussion and a few scratches he was okay. We had him in for 3 days and had released him only yesterday."

"Suits that mutt, always saving others before thinking of himself." Seto grumbled slightly. How could someone possibly be that stupid? Sometimes it appeared to the brunet that the blond youth didn't care if he died protecting someone. That heroism of his seemed already like a sickness.

"People like that are rare nowadays." The doctor nodded slightly.

"Anyway." The brunet felt a prickling sensation in his fingers. "Before he falls asleep again I'd like to talk to him for a few."

"Sure, go ahead. Just try not to upset or pressure him too much. We don't want to worsen it. I'd say an hour not more. He really needs to rest up. If anything happens call me."

Without a reply Seto had already turned towards the door. His fingers itched to just press down the latch and burst in like he always did but this time he reconsidered and gave the door a short and soft knock before entering the room that contained the youth. The brunet didn't expect a reply and went in without hesitation closing the door behind him leaving the medic outside.

* * *

Four days passed by rather slowly, at least it seemed that way for a certain blond young man confined to a white hospital bed. His condition had improved considerably. The fever had lowered to an acceptable temperature and the headache that still occurred from time to time when he tried too hard to remember his past was being countered by effective drugs. The only problem that was left was the amnesia that kept the blond in a gloomy mood.

Doctor Shirayoshi had run several tests to find the cause of his loss of memory but didn't quite succeed. The assumption was that it might be a trauma as late reaction possibly to the happenings the day Jou had left the hospital and that it just got triggered by the fever and stress the blond had been set to. Whatever Jou wished to forget so hard - he even took it to the extent of wiping his whole memory - no one was able to predict when it would return if it ever did.

People that called themselves his friends had come and left especially in the afternoon and evening hours but none of them had stayed very long.

Jou felt alone.

Even though he had appreciated the short moments of company they also hurt the most. He felt that he was supposed to know those people that had sat in front of his bed and had tried to cheer him up talking endlessly about their past only to switch to saddened and worried looks when it didn't work. Yet, he remembered none of them and the past they kept talking about wasn't his any longer.

Every time he had heard a knock on the door he had gotten excited but when the wooden barrier that seemed to hide his happiness had opened and he saw Yuugi entering the room his heart sank.

The whole time he wanted to see just one face again. He longed to hear that dark, soft voice again that had given him much more hope than 'his friends' ever could. But the young man with the deep ocean blue eyes hadn't shown up again after that first night in hospital.

The time for his release from the hospital had been set to that days evening. It still depended on his condition but since he was already taking little strolls through the hospital's garden there was no reason to hold him any longer. The only problem that occurred was that the doc couldn't reach anyone from his family who would pick him up. His mother declined giving the reason of the distance she'd had to drive – the doc supposed that she just didn't want to take care of her son since she and her husband were divorced. And at the place the blond used to live at the phone hadn't even gotten picked up. But nonetheless Jounouchi got told that he was going to leave that evening. He didn't know who was going to take him in so he was rather worried.

None of his so called friends came to visit him that day. They had told him that there was no time because of an upcoming test in school they all had to study for.

The blond was bored and a little upset. He didn't know what to do or who to talk to. Nobody was there.

He didn't feel like taking a walk either so all he had done till evening was sitting in his bed and staring out of the window. It didn't even bother him that his room was huddled in darkness because of the missing sun.

There was a short but sharp knock on the door but the blond boy took no bigger notice of it.

A tall young man about the age of Jounouchi stepped into the room. In the dull light that entered from the hall behind him one could see brown hair and the outlines of a long white coat.

He blinked upon the complete darkness and shortly after there was a flicker before the lights went on.

As Kaiba took sight of the blond boy sitting in his bed absent minded he pursed his lips and turned towards the doctor who stood behind him in the hallway.

"I thought that I had told you to inform him properly about being released and picked up this evening? Why isn't he dressed yet and ready to leave? I've got a company to lead and don't have time all day."

"I'm sorry Mr Kaiba. He wasn't feeling too well this afternoon so we hadn't told him yet so he could relax a bit more and get better. And to be honest we didn't expect you this early."

"Well but he's obviously feeling better now, isn't he? So get him dressed properly and make him pack up his stuff. I said I'd drive him home not more. I've got an important conference in about an hour so I prefer to leave from here as soon as possible."

"Then I better run and fetch the papers that you need to sign. Would it be too much trouble if you ask him to get ready yourself?"

"I guess it can't be helped", the brunet sighed in dismay.

After a nod the doctor had hurried away to fetch the papers and the brunet had turned towards the blond again. He stepped further into the room, closed the door and watched the blond in front of him for a few.

When there was no reaction Kaiba walked over to the boy's bed.

"Hey." As his voice was rough and cold towards the doctor Kaiba found himself speaking almost casually with the blond.

The boy twitched a little and slowly, as if in slow motion he turned his head towards the brunet. And this time the long awaited reaction from the blond came.

At the moment he took sight of Kaiba and realized who was standing there his eyes got as big as plates. He couldn't quite believe that the person he was waiting for the whole time had now appeared. After a few seconds more of plain staring at Kaiba, whose eyebrow rose probably as high as possible, Jounouchi snapped out of his trance and thoughts and decided to at least answer the greeting.

"Uhm...hi", he said rather sheepishly.

He couldn't nail it down but the presence of the young man with the ocean blue eyes made him a little nervous. It wasn't a negative way of nervous. It was more that he was excited to be close to the brunet.

The longer he looked at the brunet, the more he had to keep himself in control. The blond was about to get lost in those deep blue eyes as a thought crossed his mind. But before he was able to ask his question he got stopped by the brunet.

"Since anyone of your family seems to have time or feels responsible enough I'm going to drive you home. So get your stuff together because we don't have all day. It's late already and I still got stuff to do."

Slowly the blond nodded and stood up. He noticed that he was still wearing the clothes from the hospital so he grabbed the ones on the edge of his bed and vanished into the bathroom to change.

When he returned Seto had already placed a bag on the blonds bed and was in the middle of throwing the few things the boy had into it. As Jou stepped closer the brunet stopped and looked him up and down. Then, he looked around the room.

"Geez, you are so slow. I guess that's all that belongs to you." He pointed at the bag. "Let's get going then."

Together, they drove off towards the less glorious part of Domino City.

In the car the blond slowly started to get nervous. He felt awkward the closer they got towards the flat he was supposed to live in. His skin started to prickle and itch and he didn't know why. He threw a sheepish look towards the brunet but mentioned was driving the car rather emotionless so he turned towards the window again and tried to remember the buildings.

The car came to a halt and Jou blinked in confusion. While Seto got out of the car the blond just stared out of the window. And he was supposed to live HERE? Slowly he got out of the car and looked around.

In front of him stood a rundown apartment building. It wasn't very tall – just 4 or 5 storeys. The yard in front of the entrance could rather be called a waste dump than a yard and was filled with rubbish. Only a few already brown blades of grass were visible. Most of the windows were shattered or at least cracked and those that weren't were covered with cardboard or, especially in the basement level, painted with graffiti.

Slowly the blond boy stepped around the car and stood next to Seto throwing an uncertain look towards him. The brunet himself seemed to be a little irritated about the state of the house and checked the address again. Since there was no mistake the brunet gave a small sigh and started moving towards the main entrance with it's broken door that was merely attached to one hinge.

"I hope the inside looks better than the outside", the brunet was mumbling to himself.

Together they went inside and started to climb the stairs, pausing at each door to read the name tag next to the doorbell. On the third floor they found the right door and the brunet rung the bell.

The blond who was standing next to the door and hidden from the flat owners view started to tense up. As nothing from inside the flat was heard the brunet rung again.

He felt his stomach twist as rattling noises started to get louder and the blond boy just wished that he could run as far away from that house as possible.

He jerked as something got flung into the door and shattered immediately accompanied by a muffled shout. "I'm not at home!"

He saw Seto raise an eyebrow. The brunet didn't ring again but knocked on the door instead.

"Mr Jounouchi. It's concerning your son. Please open the d-"

"That son of a bitch can stay where he is and rot in corner of a street! That's where a piece of shit like him belongs to!"

More noise of glass breaking and stuff falling to the ground shattering was heard from behind the door and then it died away. Both boys stood there in silence, one of them a little irritated and unnerved the other pale and shaking all over.

Jou couldn't tell why but he was terrified of the man behind that door even though he didn't remember a face belonging to the voice. He didn't remember that hostility and violence. He was unable to believe that he was supposed to actually LIVE here.

But his body seemed to remember.

Seto stood there for a little while thinking both hands placed on his hips. Then he eyed up the blond and a small sigh escaped his lips.

"Looks like it can't be helped. You can't stay here and I suppose that you don't really want to as well, so we're going to my place and you'll stay there for the time being."

He must have looked like a picture of misery because the brunet just held out a hand to the shivering blond. The boy needed a few seconds to understand the words but then reached out and grabbed the hand with his own trembling ones.

They went back to the car and drove out of the dark street with all the rundown buildings towards the mansion that belonged to a certain brown haired CEO. The further they got the brighter were the streets illuminated. After quite a while they reached their destination and turned into the long driveway of the Kaiba Mansion.

Jou was already too tired to notice the entire size of the building. Absent minded he looked out of the window thinking about the recent happenings and didn't even notice that the car stood already still.

He got a light punch from the brunet and blinked turning his head towards Seto.

Then he realised that the car was turned off and the other was watching him. He blinked again then slowly got out of the car. He was pretty tired and the brunet must've seen it.

"Let's go inside. I'll show you your room where you can stay for the time."

Seto had already grabbed the bag of the blond and led him into the mansion and up the stairs to Jou's own room. He dropped the bag next to the bed and turned to the boy.

"My room is the one on the left at the end of the floor. The one opposite belongs to my brother. The door straight on down the floor is my home office. If you need me you can find me there. You have your own bath here. Meals are down in the kitchen. I'll show you the way tomorrow." While talking the brunet had pointed in different directions and finally turned back to the blond again.

"You look tired. You should take a shower and then go to bed. A pyjama is in the wardrobe. I'll get you something to eat", said the brunet and left the room.

Jou was following Seto and eyed his room a little. He was tired and it was already late.

He only nodded slowly and made his way to the bathroom. Since the brunet was gone he didn't feel the need of locking the door. He undressed and stepped into the shower. A small sigh escaped his lips as the water ran down his body. The blond stayed in there for a little while then got out, put on his shorts and went looking for the pyjama in the wardrobe.

The pieces of cloth were easily found, the boy dressed and ready for bed. He had already forgotten about the brunet who was fetching dinner for him. Jou climbed into the bed and lay down. He felt a little awkward being in such a giant bed but the events of the day and the past weeks started pressing in on him and suddenly he felt very sleepy. He turned to his side and curled up.

Soon he was sleeping soundly.

_To be continued_


End file.
